Calls for Papers

Singularities: Where the old rules no longer apply

A one day symposium on Sci-Fi fan events in critical event, tourism and leisure studies

Critical studies of SF Fandom are well-established, from early engagement by sociologists interested in why so many people attended SF conventions, to the seminal work of Tulloch and Jenkins on fans of Star Trek and Doctor Who. At the same time, scholars in leisure studies have been interested in the motivations, actions, identities and spaces of sports fans. This interest in fandom in leisure studies is now driven by a number of emerging trends: tourism studies scholars are increasingly interested in notions of fan mobilities and fan pilgrimage; critical events studies scholars are beginning to bringing their critique of events management to bear on corporate fan events, exploring the tensions between the commoditization of space and the articulation of identity in purpose built heterotopic environments; and some sociologists of leisure are arguing that fandom is challenged by the enormous changes to society brought about by post-industrialization and globalization. Whilst we are happy to support presentations that use PowerPoint, or similar, we wish to strongly encourage presentations that are more interactive and engage their audience in discussion and conversation, and not simply the sharing of research findings.

This symposium is an attempt to bring together those interested in events, tourism and leisure as ways and spaces in which to make sense of SF Fandom. The symposium will be linked to a special issue of Journal of Fandom Studies, edited by the symposium organisers – and the authors of the best papers will be encouraged to submit to this issue. The symposium will take place in June 2018. The symposium, and the special issue, will have the same remit. The symposium and the special issue are looking for papers on any research on SF Fandom that draws on concepts from leisure studies, from tourism studies, and from critical events studies. We are especially interested in the following topics:

As this symposium is on Sci-Fi fan events you are most welcome to come to the symposium in cosplay/crossplay. There will be a prises associated with the best cosplay/crossplay costume at the symposium.

Anyone interested in Sci-Fi Fandom and Fan Events is most welcome to attend, and full details of the symposium costs and will be made available shortly.

Abstracts should be no more than 300 words, to be submitted by 30th November (50 years, to the day, since the first Valérian and Laureline story appeared in the French magazine Pilote). Please send your abstracts to the symposium organisers:

Journal of Fandom Studies is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal, founded in 2012. We currently publish three issues per year.

The multi-disciplinary nature of fan studies makes the development of a community of scholars sometimes difficult to achieve. Journal of Fandom Studies seeks to offer scholars a dedicated publication that promotes current scholarship in the fields of fan and audience studies across a variety of media. We focus on the critical exploration, within a wide range of disciplines and fan cultures, of issues surrounding production and consumption of popular media (including film, music, television, sports, gaming, comics, cosplay and collecting). Journal of Fandom Studies aims to address key issues, while also fostering new areas of enquiry that take us beyond the bounds of current scholarship.